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Ridgewood Parks and Rec web page states: “The mission statement of the Ridgewood Department of Parks and Recreation is to preserve open space and provide facilities and year round recreational activities that meet the needs of all residents.”

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Reader says, “The current brouhaha is just the latest iteration of an age-old continuing controversy regarding Glen School courts. As noted in this article and as also noted by a Blog respondent to another related article; back when tennis was all the rage, the hue and cry was raised by the owners of adjacent homes (hereinafter referred to as “NIMBYs”) over the use of the tennis courts at that time. So the old adage “The more things change, the more they remain the same.” is alive and well.”

“I played on the Glenn School tennis courts for the first time in 1989. The homes adjacent to the courts now were there then, so I can testify through personal experience that the neighborhood has remained essentially unchanged for at least 3+ decades, and possibly more. That use of the tennis courts declined over the years should not preclude their renewed use now, nor should owners of adjacent homes be entitled to special treatment to the detriment of all other Village residents.

Pickleball is not revolutionary – it is evolutionary, and therefore natural. After all, humans constantly seek new avenues of interest and activity. As examples of new sports activities, look at the next scheduled Olympics – new events are included that did not exist a few years ago. Ever hear of kitesurfing? Few have, but it’s in the next Olympics nevertheless.

Let’s not even mention (no, let’s) skateboarding. snowboarding, surfing, bungee-jumping, para-sailing, rollerblading… None of these were widely popular (and quite possibly did not exist) a few short decades ago, but they are here now. Pickleball is just one of the latest entries in the realm of leisure human activity.

The NIMBYs (probably the same folks who complained about tennis), no doubt having threatened the Village with lawsuits (which is the usual course of action nowadays for “the Great Oppressed”), have already extracted “compensation” of a sort, forcing the Village to take action to reduce the “loud noise” level.

To wit: pickleball players at Glenn courts are now required to use a specific pickleball because it produces a measurably lower decibel level reading than any other pickleball. This requirement is enforced thru random visits by RPD officers, who surely have better things to do than check pickleball compliance.

The Village has also installed, in an attempt to satisfy the NIMBYs, a sound-deadening fabric cover over the entire chain-link fence surrounding the courts. No doubt this cover was not donated – it had to cost more than $0.00. Yet the NIMBY’s are still unmollified, and their complaints rage on, unabated.

The top line of Ridgewood Parks and Rec web page states: “The mission statement of the Ridgewood Department of Parks and Recreation is to preserve open space and provide facilities and year round recreational activities that meet the needs of all residents.”

How can providing a facility that fulfills this statement be viewed as other than a positive by Village residents (except for NIMBYs)? It is clearly beneficial when sixteen people can, at one time, engage in a health-promoting, socially engaging activity in the same amount of space that previously accommodated a maximum of eight people. Surely the benefit to the many must must outweigh the inconvenience to the few.

And the inconvenience is objectively minimal – the complaints of “loud noise” are entirely and completely subjective and greatly exaggerated. Let the NIMBYs gather objective, scientific data and provide independent verification by third party experts of this data to support their claims – then an intelligent discussion can ensue and a compromise be reached. Otherwise, let them forever hold their peace – and maybe grab a paddle!”

2 thoughts on “Ridgewood Parks and Rec web page states: “The mission statement of the Ridgewood Department of Parks and Recreation is to preserve open space and provide facilities and year round recreational activities that meet the needs of all residents.”

  1. Can someone define nimby?

  2. Not In My Back Yard.

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